Salk

Salk is a surname. The most well-known bearer is Jonas Salk (1914–1995), an American medical researcher and virologist whose development of the first widely used poliovirus vaccine transformed public health in the 20th century.

Jonas Salk was born in New York City to Jewish immigrant parents from Poland. He earned his medical degree from the New York University School of Medicine in 1940 after studies at the City College of New York. He conducted much of his early research at the University of Pittsburgh and later directed vaccine development efforts there and at the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis (the March of Dimes).

Salk developed an inactivated poliovirus vaccine (IPV), using formaldehyde to inactivate the virus. After laboratory work, he led field trials in 1954–1955 that demonstrated the vaccine's safety and effectiveness. Following the trials, mass immunization led to a dramatic decline in polio cases in the United States and in many other countries.

Salk did not patent the vaccine. He argued that the vaccine should be widely accessible to all people. In 1955, an incident known as the Cutter incident highlighted manufacturing risks in vaccine production, leading to changes in vaccine regulation and oversight.

In 1960, Salk founded the Salk Institute for Biological Studies in La Jolla, California, to pursue fundamental biomedical research. The institute, housed in a widely recognized building designed by architect Louis Kahn, continues to be a leading center for interdisciplinary bioscience.

Salk's work left a lasting impact on vaccinology and public health, and he is remembered as a key figure in the global effort to combat polio.